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(Continued from Last Week.)
rhat word of any sort had come
from *Uncle Josetih was in a ieasure
reassuring. but the air of perturbation
and gloom was not noticeably re
moved. The general impression might
be sunned up in the words of his
sister.
"Nobody knows what that mnn'll do,
when he deeldes to!" Aunt Carrie
said nervously. "Letting Lne poor
child stay up so latel She ought to
be in bed this minute, even if it is
Saturday night. Or else she ought to
be here to listen to her own bad little
cousin trying to put his terrible re
sponsibility on her shoulders."
'One item of her description of him
self the badgered Herbert couk1 not
bear in silence, although he had just
declared that since the truth was so
ill-respected among his persecutors he
would open his mouth no more until
the next day. He passed over "bad,"
but furiously stated his height in feet,
inches and fractions of inches.
Aunt Fanny shook her head in
mourning. "That may be, Herbert,"
she said gently, "But you must try to
realize it can't bring poor young Mr.
Dill back to his family."
Again Herbert just looked at her.
He had no indifference more profound
than that upon which her strained
conception of the relation between
cause and effect seemed to touch; and,
from his point of view, to be missing
should be the lightest of calamities.
It is true that he was concerned with
the 'restoration of Noble Dill to the
rest of the Dills so far as such an
event might affect his own incompara
ble n'isfortunes-but not otherwise.
He regarded Noble and Noble's disap
pearance merely as unfair damage to
himself. He continued to look at this
sorrowing great-aunt of his, and his
thoughts made his strange gaze ap
pear to her so hardened that she shook
her head and looked away.
"Podr young Mr. Dill I" she said.
"If someone could only have been
And Under That Light Sat Noble Dill.
with him, and kept talking to him Un
til ho got used to th~e ,idea ,a little I"
Cousin Virginia nodlded comprehend.
ingly. "Yes, it might have tided him
over," she said. "lie wasn't handsome,
-nor impressive, of course, nor any.
* thing like that, but he always slpoke
so nlicep; to people on the street. I'n
sure he never harmed even a kittenb
poor sour"
"I'm sure he never did," Herbert's
mother agreed, gently. "Not eyen a
kitten. I do wonder where lie is
now."
' But Aunt Fanny uttered a little cry
.. of protest. "I'm afraid we may hear,"
she said, "Lany moment I"
And the most tragic news of Noble
Dill 'these sympathetic women could
have heard would have surprised them
little; they had unanimously set their
expectation in so romantically pessi
mistic a groove. But if the truth of
his whereabouts could have been
made 4nowvn to them, as they sat thus
together at what was developing vir
tually into his wake, with Herbert as
a compulsory participant, they would
have turned the session into a riot of
amazement, Noble -was - in the very
iaet place (they would have said,
whien calmer) where anybody in the
world codld have madly dreamed of
looking for him I They would lieve
beesm right about it. No .dne cou1de
have expeeted to. dnd Noble 'tonight
inside th~ old, four-square brick house
of Mr, A. Awater, Senior, chief ef
the Atwaters and father of the. dis
turbing Julia. This was an old man of
rIgiy liiiteA sympfthies; arid his
dfpiion ot~Noble Dill had bieconte al
mos nntnyinna e rt was na hasm of
th's . ra on .
t,1921- by Sj BlSmndicateInc
refuge for t orn Roble needing sol
ace, nor was his house for any moment
IosPitaie with Julia out of it. More
iver, Mr. H. I. Atwater, Senior, was
not ait present I the house; he 'hin
closed and locked it yesterday, giving
the servants a week's vacation .and
telling theim not to return till lie sent
'or them; and had then gone out cof
town to look over a hominy mill he
thought of buying. And yet, as 'the
wake went on, there was a light in the
house. and under that light sat Noble
Dill.
Returning home, after Florence fd
piaced the shattering news within his
iand. Noble had changed his shoes
and his tie. He was but a mnechan
Ismn; he had no motive. The shoes he
put oi were no better than those he
took off; the fresh tie was no loveller
triam the one he had wern; nor had it
even the lucidity to be n' purple one.
as evidence of grief. No; his action
was. if so viewed, "crazy," as Aunt
Fanny haid called it. Agitation first
took this form; that was all. Love
and change of dress are closely allied;
and in happi.er times when Noble came
home from work and wouglf see Julin
In the evening ,he usually changed his
clothes. No doubt there is some faint
tracery here, too indistinct to repay
contemplation.
. When lhe left the house he walked
rapidly down-town, and toward the
end of this one-mile journey lie rran ;
but as lIe was then approaching the
railwny station, no one thought him
eccentiric. He was, however; for
when he entered the station- he went
to a bench and sat looking upward
for more than ten minutes; then rose
and went to a ticket-window and asked
for a time-table.
"What road?" the clerk inquired.
"All points south," said Noble.
He placed the time-table, still fold
ed, in his pocket, rested an elbow on
the brass apron of the window, and
would have given himself up to re
flections, though urged to move away.
Several people wishing to buy tickets
had formed a line behind him and
they perceived that Noble had nothing
more to say to the clerk. The latter
encouraged their pi-otests, and even
went so far as to exclaim, "For
heaven's sake ! Can't you let thasa
folks buy their tickets?" And since
Noble still did not movh: "My gosh,
haven't you got no feet?"
"Feet? Oh, yes," said Noble gently.
"I'm going away." And went back to
his sent.
After a while he sought to study
his time-table. Ordinarily, his mind
was one of those able to decipher and
comprehend railway time-tables; he
had fewv gifts, but this was one of
them. It failed him; now~'; and lie
wanndlered back to the ticket-windowv,
anmd, after urgent coaching, eventually
took his Place at the endi insteadl or at
the head of the line that waited there.
In his turn he came again to the win
dow, andl departed from it after- a
conversation with the clerk whieh left
the latter in unconscious accordl with
Aunt Fanny Atwater's commiserating
adjective, though the clerk's own pity
was expr-essed in ar'got. "Th'le poor
nut !" he explained to his next client.
"Wants to liuy a ticket on a train
that don't pull out till ten thirty-flivo
tonight ; and me filli' it all out,
stampin' it and everything, what for!
Turined out all his -pockets and
couldn't come nearer'n eight doilliars
short o' the price I Where you want
to go?"
Noble went back to his bench and
sat there for a long time, though there
was no time long or short for him.
Heo was not yet consciously suffer'ing
greatly; nor was he thinking at all.
True, he hadl a dim, persistent impulse
to action-or else why should he be
at the station?-but for the clearest
expression of his condition it is neces
sary to borrow a culinary symbol; he
was jelling. The state of shock was
slowvly dispersing while a perception
of anguish as slowly increased. He
was beginning to swallow nothing at
Intervals, and the intervals were grow
ing shorter.
Dusk was misting down, outdoors,
when with "dragging steps he came out
of the station. He looked 'hazily up
and down the street, 'where the corner
lamps and shop-windows now were
lighted, and, after dreary hesitatiott,
he wvent in search of a pawn-shop, and
found one. The old man who operated
it must 'have been a philanthropist, for
Noble waes so fortunate as to secure a
loan of nIne dollars upon his watch.
Surpriwed At this, he 'returned to the
statidhi, and wont back to the same old
bench.
A Iitte after a!: o'clock a clanging
satd coin~motles) in the trajn-shed out.
aide,' atteiding thes. arrival of a
"theough. express," stird him from
his' tgrpor. He walked-hoavily across
the r'oovn to the sqme' ticket-window
he had .blockced bef6ate, but there was.
no queue attached to it now. lie
rested his elbow Ont the apron and his
chin tipon his hand1ant:,for some noo
ienits the clerk itaited unill he silould
atie hi wishes, ~3is was a newy
ilerk, who had Jus reehlhie~~itieir
"Well I Well I" he said at last.
"I'll take it now,'' Noble responded,
gently.
"What'll you take now?"
"That ticket I"
"What ticket?"
"The same one I wanted before,"
Noble sigbed.
The clerk gave him a piercing look,
glanced out of the window and saw
that there were no other clients, then
went to a desk at the further end of
his compartment, and took up some
clerical work lie had in hand.
Noble ionned upon the apron of the
window, waiting; arki if he thought
anything, he thought the man was
serving him.
The high, resonant room became
clamorous with voices and with the
mingling echoes of footsteps on the
tiled floor, as pngsengers from the ex
press hurried to the street, or more
gally straggled through, shouting to
friends who came to greet them; and
among these moving groups there
walked a youthful fine lady noticeably
enlivenihg to the dullest eye. She. was
preceded by .a brisk porter who car
ried two traveling bags of a rich sort,
as -well as :a sack of implements for
the game of golf; and. she was warm
in dark furs. agahist which the vasty
cluip -uf violets she wore showed
dewy gleamings of blue.
At sight of Noble DIl1, more than
ehnsive at the ticket-window, she hesi
tnted, then stopped and observed him.
ilere was a coincidence, in- a mild
way, for, as It happened, -he was her
self the most observed person in all
that place. She was veiled In two
veils. but -she had 'been seen In the
train without these, and some of her
fellow-travelers, though strangers to
lier, were walking near her in a hypo
critleal way, hoping still not to lose
sight of lher,even veiled. And although
the shroudings permitted the most
meager infornation of her features,
what they -did reveal was harmfully
piquant; moreover, there was a sweet
ness to the figure, a disturbing grace;
and nothing -disguises such an air of
wearing -that mnany violets as a daily
perquisite and matter of course.
It was -.fulia's fortune (though her
father had other ideas concerning the
matter) 'to 'he the possessor of a petr
sonality distinotly pleasing to the
amasculine -eye, .and, of this the fair
Julia was probably aware. In any
event she 'was quite conscious of the
stir which her passage through ,the
throng created.
So the .coincidence came about that
this observed lady stopped and ob
served Noble, who in return observed
her not at all, being but semiconscious.
"Noble'l" -she said.
le stared at her. His elbow sagged
away from the window; the whole
person of Noble Dill seemed near col.
lapse. He shook, and had no voice.
"I just 'this minute got off the
train," Julia said. "Are you going
away somewhere?"
BIG
F
Saturd
Come and
Whe
Get Your Lu
*Don't I
HOMI
"No," he whispered ; then obtained '
command of a huskiness somewhat
greater in volume. "I'm just standing
here."
"I told the porter to get Te a taxi
cab," she said. "If you're going home
for dinner I'll drop you tat your house."i
"I- I'm- 1-" Ills articulation
encountered unttsuriountable diflicil
ties, but Julia had been with iitp;
through nany such trials aforetimne.
She said briskly. "I'm awfully hungry
and I want to get home. Come on-It
you like."
lie walked waveringly at her side
through Ithe station, and followed her
Into the dim Interior of the cab, which
became fragrant of violets-an emna
nation alt once tinef1able and poisonous.
"I'm so glad I happened to run
across you," she said, as they began 1
to vibritte tremulously in unison with
the ierce ilttle engine that drove the).
"I V'e.* co hear all the news. Nobody
knows I'm home. I didn't write or
telegrnph to a soul: and I'll he a
complete sutpriEe to father and every
body-i don't know 4ow pleasant a
onel You didn't seem so frightfully,
glad to see me, Nobl'e I"
"Am I?" 1he whispered. "I mean-I
mean-I mean: Didn't I?"
"Nol" she laughed. "You looked
you looked shocked i It couldn't have
been because I looked ill or anything,
because I'm not; and if I were, you
couldn't have told it, through two
veils. Possibly I'd better take your
expression as a compliment." She
paused, then asked hesitatingly, "Shall
I?"
This was the style the Atwaters
held JulIa responsible for; but they
were mistaken: she was unable to con
trol it. She at once went cheerily on:
"l'erhaps not, as you don't answer. I
shouldn't be so bold I Do you sup
pose anybody'll be glad to see-me?"
"I- 1-" Ile seemed to hope that
words would come, nll in their own
good time.
"Noble l" she cried. "Don't be so
glum I" And she touched his arm
with her inuff, a fluffy contact causing
within him a short convulsion, natural
ly invisible. "Noble, aren't you going
to tell me what's all the news?"
"There's-some," he managed to in
form her. "Some-some ne'ws."
"What is it?"
#:Never mind," she said soothingly.
"Get your breath; I can wait. I hope
nothing's wrong in your family,
Noble."
"No-oh, no."
"It isn't just my turning up un
expectedly that's upset you so, of
course." she dared to say. "Naturally.
I know better than to think such a
thing as that."
"Oh. JulIa I" he said. "Oh, Julia I"
"What Is it, Noble?"
"Noth-ing," he murmured, disjoint
Ing the word with a gulp.
"How odd you happened to be there
-at the station," she said; "just when
AUCT
' 0:
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Have a Big !
ther You Exp
FREE DRAWII
icky Number an
lilI Be Given Ai
F'orget -the
FUR!
NEXT TO PC
my train camte in You're ire you I
weren't going away anywhere?"
"No; oh, no."
She was thoughtful, then laughed
confidentialy. "You're the only per -i
son iI town that knows 1,'m home1,
Nobk"
"I'm gind," he said, humebly.
She laughed iga In. "I Cm11eu1 all o!
a studden-on anl iImpulse. It's a lit tle
idiotic. I'll teJl you ihout it, Noi'i.
You see, ten or twelve days ago I
wrote the family a more or less indis
erect letter. That Is, I told them(il
something I wanted thei to be i.
erect about, and, of course, when I got.
to thinking it over, I Imew the"
wouldn't. You see, I wrote them
'onething I wanted thema to keep a
secret, but the more I thought about
It, the more I saw I'd better hurry
back. Yesterday it got into my head
that. I'd better hop on the next train
for home."
She paused, then added, "So I (1d!
About ten or twelve days is long jis
anybody has a right to expect the At
water femily connection to keep the
deadliest kind of a secret, Isn't it?"
And as he did not respond, she ex
plained, modestly, "Of course, it
wasn't a very deadly secret; it was
really shout sometting of only the
least importance." k
Thi4 was so frightful an imder
statement that the jar of it restored
Noble's voice to a startling loudness.
"Only the least Importance!" he
shouted. "With a man named Cruml"
"Whatl" she cried.
"Crum i" Noble Insisted. "That's
exactly what it said his name was I"
"What said his name was?" a '1
Julia, excitedly.
"The North End Daily Oriole."
"What in heaven's name is that?"
"It's the children's paper, Herbert's
and Florence's, your own niece and
nephew, Julia I You don't mean you
deny It, do you, Julia?"
She was in great confusion: "Do I
deny what?"
"That his name is CrumlI" Noble
said passionately. "That his name is
Crum and that he's a widower ani
he'r been divorced and's got nobody
knows how many children i"
Julia sought to collect herself. "I
don't know what you're talking
about," she said. "If you mean that
I happened to meet a very charming
man while I was away, and that his
name happened to be Crum, I don't
know why I should go to the trouble
of denying it. But if Mr. Crum has
bad the experiences you say he has,
it is certainly news to me I I think
someone told me he was only twenty
six years old. He looked rather
younger."
(To be continued.)
Usually a Dub.
It is very seldom that the man who
thinks he knows more than anybody
else seems to profit by his informa
tion.
ION LM
F
. 18, 2
rime With t
ect to Bid oi
alG CONTEST
d Win a Prize.
vay at-the Stor<
Time and
IITURI
~ST OFFICE
ASPIRIN
Namc "Bayer" ol Genuine
A
RA nLsa
Beware! Unless you see the namo
"Dayor" On package or on tiblets youa
are not getting genuine Aspirin pro
ribed by physiclans orf twenty-onio
years and prov-ed safe by millions.
Take Aspirin only as told in the llayer
package for Colds, IHeadache, Neural
gin, Rheumatism, F'arache, Toothaclie,
Lumbago and for Pain. Ilandy tin
boxes of twelve Bayer Tablets of As
pirin cost few cents. Druggists also
sell larger packages. Aspirin is tho
trade mark of Bayer Manufacturo of
Monoaceticacidester of 8alieylIlaciid.
4+*++4*44*
Says Calomel
Salivates and
Loosens Teeth
The Very Next Dose of this
Treacherous Drug may
Start Trouble
You know what calomel is. It's ier
cury; quicksilver. Caloiel is dangerous,
It crashes into sour bile like dynamite.
cramping and sickening you. Caloniel
attacks the bones and should never bo
put into your system.
If you feel bilious, headachy, consti
pated and all knocked out, just go to
your druggist and get a bottle of Dod
son's Liver Tone for a few cents which
is a liarmless vegetable substitute for
dangerous calomnel. Take a spoonful and
if it doesn't start your liver and
straighten you up better and quicker
than nasty caloinel and without making
you sick, you just go back and get your
nmoney.
I)on't take calonel! It makes you
sick the next day; it loses you a day's
work. Dodson's Liver Tone straightens
you right up and you feel great. No
salts necessary. Give it to the children
.because it is perfectly harmless and can
not salivate.
666
will break a Cold, Fever and Grippe
quicker than anything we know, pre*
venting pneumonia.
iALE
P. M
he Crowd
'Not
Numbers
Place
Id'